Monday, December 12, 2011

Macau (澳门) - Largo de Senado and Ruin of St. Paul

As I had mentioned in the last post on how casinos are scattered everywhere in Macau, sometimes, it can be very distracting to the real beauty of Macau. However, for those who are determined to experience the third world charms of the country, it is all within the heart of the country.

Look at this charming place...

After our hearty breakfast at Margaret’s Café which we accidentally stumbled upon (and will talk more about it), we went to Largo de Senado (Senado Square), which is the centre of Macau. This is the place where you get to absorb the colonial beauties of the Portuguese architectures which are aplenty and surrounding the square. Most of these buildings had been converted into souvenir shops and shopping areas while retaining the original architectures of the buildings.

with its charming road sign...

surrounded with distinctively Portuguese colours...

St. Dominic's Church

Other than those shoplots, there is the Leal Senado buildings which used to be the government building during Portuguese reign, the general post office, as well as the St. Dominic’s Church. A further walk in will lead you to the most famous building in Macau, the St. Paul’s ruin.

Further down the road...

and voila, ruin of St. Paul!

Just look at the crowds!!!

At the top of the flights of stairs, you get to see the beauties from atop

What used to be the St. Paul’s College and the cathedral of St. Paul, this façade is the remaining of the building that survived the fire which burnt down the complex. Other than the façade standing at the top of the stairs, there are the artifacts and relics discovered during an archeological dig during 1990 to 1995 which led to those discoveries. What were excavated back then were restored and along with the ruin, were being turned into a museum. Enlightening, to say the least. It is worth spending an hour or so in this neighbourhood for there are a lot of these retro buildings for you to look at and admire, if you are into these things.

The museum down the crypt of St. Paul

Some of the relics on display

Just around the corner, you will also find the Museum of Macau which is located at the top of the hill of Fortaleza do Monte (Mount Fort), a 16th century fort built to guard the Jesuit of Macau. Suffice to say, you get to see a whole lots of old colonial buildings as well as going to museums, all within the vicinity of Largo de Senado.

The Museum of Macau at the hill of Mount Fort

The views of Macau from Mount Fort

*TO BE CONTINUED*

Sharing is caring. A word of advice and a piece of information.

Most of the museums in Macau open six days a week. Before heading to any of the museums, you need to find out first if it opens on that day itself or not. If not, you will end up like us, being disappointed to discover the Museum of Macau closed on Monday.